New England Patriots - TeamReport

It's called rookie minicamp, but not all of the 33 players on the practice fields of New England last week were new to pro football.

Beyond the seven draft picks, 19 rookie free agents and handful of try-out players, there were two more experienced players. One may have a legitimate chance at being a long-term impact player for the Patriots even though he was never drafted or even originally signed as an undrafted NFL rookie free agent out of college.

One is former Northeastern star and Brockton, Mass., native Jason Vega signed with the Patriots this offseason as a versatile defensive option in the Rob Ninkovich-mold after a couple years spent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. His story of coming out of a lower level of college football and working his way toward a chance at the NFL is not unique.

The same can't be said for Armond Armstead, who was a CFL All Star last season and helped the Toronto Argonauts to the Grey Cup. The athletic defensive lineman actually played college football as a highly regarded recruit at USC before being sidelined with a heart condition and was not cleared to play by the Trojans medical staff for his senior season in 2011.

He claimed the heart attack was caused from injections of the painkiller Toradol by the USC medical staff and has a pending lawsuit against the school.

Armstead was projected as high as a third round prospect by NFLDraftScout.com going into his senior season in 2011. However, he spent five days in the USC hospital after suffering chest pains at a spring practice. At the time, the pains were reportedly related to an illness he had for a couple of weeks.

The USC medical staff did not clear him to play in 2011, so he sat it out while contending the school doctors were wrong about his condition. In March of 2012 he announced he was entering the draft. USC lawyers, on advice of team doctors, did not allow Armstead even to take part in the team's Pro Day workouts.

A native of Elk Grove, CA., Armstead took part in a Pro Day at Sacramento State University and, although he performed well, no NFL team took a chance on him either in the draft or even as a rookie free agent.

Now, following an impressive year in Canada, Armstead is an intriguing young prospect in New England.

Ready to take on the challenge of his next career opportunity in New England, Armstead looks back fondly on his time in Canada that saw him register 43 tackles and six sacks.

"It was a great experience living in a different country and getting to experience a different culture and everything. Just having an opportunity to play professionally, even though it was Canadian, I was just excited to have the opportunity," Armstead said. "I feel like I learned a lot, how to be a pro and how to approach your work and everything. I feel like it's going to help me out a lot."

Armstead said the talent of the competition he faced in Canada varied, as it has at every level he's ever played at. He also joked that nothing has ever compared to what he faced in practice at USC when "practice every day was harder than any game I had in college."

After being in Foxborough for a few weeks, and with a year of CFL action under his belt, Armstead is clearly a few steps ahead of the draft picks and rookie free agents he's working with this week. But he's also not quite a veteran.

"I don't know what to consider myself," Armstead answered with a laugh when asked how he fit on the roster of rookie and veteran talent. "I would say I'm a rookie in the NFL, so yeah I'm a rookie."

For the record, Armstead and Vega are indeed NFL rookies.

Armstead has prior experience at a variety of spots on the defensive line, working as a tackle, end, sub rusher and even a standup defender.

"Whatever I can do to get on the field, that's what I'll do," Armstead said, echoing a common sentiment heard this time of year.

While his position and role in New England is very much uncertain at this point, one thing that is for sure is that Armstead isn't taking anything for granted. Once a guy Pete Carroll himself projected as a future first-round pick, the former Trojan has gone through a lot to get to his first NFL opportunity.

"I feel like a lot of the experiences I've had the last two or three years have humbled me a lot. It just made me appreciate everything I'm given more and not take stuff for granted," the impressive Armstead said. "Being a highly-recruited player and going to a school like USC, you kind of take for granted the opportunities. You see guys who don't even play go to the NFL. So you take that for granted. You think, 'Oh, I'm going to go to the NFL too.' My experience, what happened to me, definitely made me more hungry and made me more humble.